Welcome
It was not until I had written my last blog “Sales Training v’s Dog Training” that I actually started to think how much my dog, Honey featured in my working life.
I have run an office from home my whole career life, so it should not be a surprise that Honey has fully embraced The Training Expert culture!
Examples as to how I could not operate without her:
· When the telephone rings, no matter where in the house she is she will always let me know with her dulcet whining tone that starts off as a whimper and develops into a full rendition of whines and barks. You can only imagine what the person on the other end of the receiver thinks to this when I answer the phone and she is singing away in the background. You see Honey will continue to make this ........racket until I go and make a fuss of her with plenty of thank you’s, and naturally I cannot do this until I have finished the phone call!
· When the door bell rings, again Honey loves to inform me but this time with a precession of loud barks, as though she is on guard and ready to attack. Naturally this prepares the visitor, and if my dog had been on my Sales Expert training course and learnt good communication skills then there would be no problem. However, as it stands Honey is not the best with strangers walking through my front door. If they are female, there is no problem, but be warned if they are male, my loveable, cheeky dog will continuously bark until the male has either backed out of the door or I have grabbed her and removed her away from the doorway. So now, tell me where the need for a body guard or secretary is when I have Honey?!
· Greeting visitors. If I follow usual Honey protocol when a visitor arrives into my home/business, which is to put her in the kitchen until my guest has settled and then, and only then, open the kitchen door for her to be polite and introduce herself. Honey will in a very professional manner shake hands, which in dog terms means licking any bare flesh that they sniff. Beware open toed shoes guests!
· Marketing the business; Honey is definitely an expert at this. That is if we all understood the dog communication of barking. She understands the concept that whenever away from the office the business needs to be promoted. She chooses to do this in my back garden, her style and tone can be as brutal as some marketing agencies, in that it can be quite loud, annoying and will not stop! However, she is resilient; she will continue to spread the word through her barking until told otherwise. Her target audience being: birds, leaves on trees and aeroplanes!
